Jan. 20—Dear Answer Man: It seems in addition to that state trooper with the radar gun, Minnesota drivers will need to watch out for the fun police. The federal government has declared that those electronic message boards that hang from overpasses or sit alongside highways will now be pun-free zones. No jokes, no pop culture references. Is anyone really going to look at those signs now that all we read is “Don’t Drink and Drive” or “Stay Off Your Cell Phone” and other boring — though important — messages? — Lover of a Good Pun.
Dear Pun Lover,
So, I read those guidelines from the Federal Highway Administration, and my initial impression was that they are no joke. Here’s a little outtake from the section on “changeable message signs” in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, 11th edition:
“When a CMS is used to display a traffic safety campaign, the message should be simple, direct, brief, legible, and clear. … A CMS should not be used to display a traffic safety campaign message if doing so could adversely affect respect for the sign. Messages with obscure or secondary meanings, such as those with popular culture references, unconventional sign legend syntax, or that are intended to be humorous, should not be used as they might be misunderstood or understood only by a limited segment of road users and require greater time to process and understand. Similarly, slogan-type messages and the display of statistical information should not be used.”
That seems pretty clear to me. No jokes. No pop culture and — like we need this reminder — no math. And I thought my morning commute couldn’t get any more boring.
But Anne Meyer, a spokeswoman with the Minnesota Department of Transportation, said not so fast, all you Debbie Downers.
“We will still have
creative messages with our campaigns,”
Meyer said.
Meyer said MnDOT’s legal department gave the language from the feds more than a passing glance.
“MnDOT is aware of the new federal guidelines, and we do not anticipate they will change the way MnDOT shares creative highway safety messages with the public that helps improve safety on our Minnesota roadways,” Meyer said. “We believe these messages are an important part of improving the culture of traffic safety in Minnesota, and why we will continue our Message Monday campaign.”
Meyer said the FHA guidelines have some language that is more restrictive, but the language regarding what can and can’t be used on the message boards is more of a recommendation than a hard-and-fast rule. The state, she said, can exercise its best judgment in created messages that will improve safety on the roadways.
That didn’t stop media outlets from reading the language in the guidelines more strictly, as your friendly neighborhood Answer Man did initially.
But Meyer said all that concern is for naught. The goal, she said, is to create messages that convey an important highway safety concept and do so without distracting drivers. But that doesn’t mean MnDOT can’t have a little fun.
“We are aware of this guidance,” Meyer said. “There is flexibility.”
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